4. Toni Mensah
‘LoLuxe Estate
We had just got back home from My’Love’s party, and I could tell by the way Kay’Lo was actin’ that he had somethin’ on his mind.
He ain’t say nothin’ on the ride back, but he ain’t have to.
Kay’Lo had a way of goin’ quiet that said more than most people could say with a whole speech.
He drove with one hand on the wheel while the other rested on My’Love’s leg in the back seat, checkin’ on her every few minutes even though she had been knocked out since we pulled away from the pavilion.
My baby had wore herself all the way out. She had spent most of the day runnin’ around in her birthday outfit, eatin’ cake, grabbin’ at balloons, and lettin’ everybody pass her around like she was the only child in the world.
By the time the party started windin’ down, she had frostin’ on her fingers, one shoe missin’, and enough candy in her system to keep a grown person up for two days.
The second Kay’Lo strapped her into her seat, she fell asleep like none of that shit ever happened.
I kept lookin’ over at him while we drove, tryna figure out if he was mad at me, mad at Sha’Nelle, or just mad at the whole damn situation.
He had barely spoke after we left the pavilion, and the few times I tried to say somethin’ about the party, all I got was a short answer and a look that told me he wasn’t really interested in talkin’ about none of that.
Of course, I knew what had him actin’ like this.
The whole damn party had went left the second Sha’Nelle walked in with Couture.
I knew Renza was gon’ lose his mind, and I knew Kay’Lo and Pressure wasn’t gon’ sit around actin’ like they ain’t see that shit either.
Them Mensah men might laugh and joke when they felt like it, but they ain’t play about nobody they loved.
Sha’Nelle walkin’ into the pavilion holdin’ another nigga’s hand while Renza was already there had been a fire waitin’ on somebody to throw gas on it.
The fucked-up part was, I knew about Couture before today.
Sha’Nelle had told me enough for me to know she was dealin’ with somebody new, and she had made it clear she ain’t want that information gettin’ back to Renza.
I ain’t agree with every decision my cousin made, but I understood why she kept it to herself.
Renza had already showed her he ain’t know how to accept no, and she was tryna move on without him turnin’ her life upside down.
Then today happened, and he ended up doin’ exactly that anyway.
When Sha’Nelle rushed past me lookin’ all tore up, I knew somethin’ had happened before she even opened her mouth.
Her hair was out of place, her face was wet with tears, and the look in her eyes had me movin’ behind her without thinkin’.
By the time we got outside and she told me Renza had fucked her behind the buildin’, I ain’t even know what to say.
Part of me wanted to go find that nigga and ask him what the fuck was wrong with him. Another part of me already knew exactly what was wrong with him. He was Renza Mensah, and them niggas had a way of believin’ love gave them permission to lose every bit of sense they had.
That ain’t mean I excused none of it, though…
Renza was family, and I loved him like a brother, but Sha’Nelle was my cousin before any of the Mensah men came into our lives.
I could understand why he was hurt without agreein’ with the way he handled it.
I could also understand why ‘Nelle wanted somebody different without pretendin’ what happened between them ain’t still have a hold on her.
Then Couture pulled back up, and I had to think fast before that whole situation blew up in everybody face.
I told him Sha’Nelle had gotten into a scuffle with one of our family members and needed to leave.
He looked confused and asked if she was okay, but he ain’t press the issue once I assured him she would be straight.
I hated lyin’ to him ‘cause he seemed to genuinely care about my cousin, but tellin’ that man what really happened would’ve turned My’Love’s birthday party into somethin’ none of us could take back.
By the time Kay’Lo pulled away from the pavilion, I was tired in every way a person could be tired.
My feet hurt, my head was poundin’, and I still couldn’t wrap my mind around Renza draggin’ Sha’Nelle behind the buildin’ while the man she came with was only a few minutes away.
The whole situation was a mess, and even though I knew Kay’Lo had questions, he ain’t ask me nothin’ durin’ the ride home.
That silence told me enough…
Kay’Lo wasn’t the type to talk just because somethin’ bothered him.
He would sit with it, turn it over in his head, and wait until he knew exactly what he wanted to say.
This man could be quiet for an hour and still have a bitch feel like she was bein’ questioned, so I kept glancin’ over at him while he drove and tried to figure out what was goin’ through his mind.
His face stayed straight, and one hand remained on the wheel while the other kept reachin’ into the back seat every few minutes to touch My’Love’s leg.
He looked back at her once we stopped at a light, then turned his attention to the road again.
He still ain’t say nothin’ to me, and I ain’t force the conversation ‘cause I already knew it was waitin’ on me at the house.
When we finally pulled through the gates, he parked and got out before I could finish unbucklin’ my seat belt. I watched him open the back door and lean inside, slidin’ one arm behind My’Love’s back and the other beneath her legs.
“Come here, Daddy’s baby,” he whispered while liftin’ her from the seat.
My’Love made a small sound and rubbed her face against his chest, but her eyes never opened. Kay’Lo adjusted her against him, kissed the top of her head, and carried her toward the house while I grabbed the rest of our things and followed behind them.
Watchin’ him with our daughter almost made me forget he had been sittin’ beside me lookin’ irritated for the whole ride home.
Kay’Lo could be one of the most dangerous men walkin’, but My’Love had him wrapped around every one of her little fingers.
He held her as if she was the most precious thing he had ever touched, and the way he looked down at her made my heart soften even though my nerves was still botherin’ me.
I locked the door behind us and followed him upstairs. He went straight to My’Love’s room and lowered her into her bed without wakin’ her. One of her pink socks had started slidin’ off, so he pulled it back over her foot before easin’ her shoes off and settin’ them beside the bed.
I stood near the door and watched while he removed the jewelry she had worn for her party, then placed it on her dresser. He pulled the blanket over her and brushed the curls from her forehead before leanin’ down to kiss her.
“Happy birthday, pretty girl,” he murmured.
My chest warmed when I heard him, but the feelin’ faded as soon as he straightened up and looked over at me. That same quiet expression was still sittin’ on his face, and I knew the sweet daddy moment had nothin’ to do with whatever he had planned for his wife.
We stepped into the hallway, and Kay’Lo left My’Love’s door cracked before followin’ me into our bedroom.
I walked toward the dresser and started removin’ my earrings while he closed the door behind us.
He ain’t lock it or say nothin’ right away.
He simply stood near the door and watched me through the mirror.
I tried to act like his stare wasn’t botherin’ me, but my husband knew me too well for that shit to work. I set my earrings down, slid my bracelets off, and reached for the clasp on my necklace while his eyes stayed on me.
“What?” I finally asked, lookin’ at him through the mirror.
Kay’Lo pushed away from the door and walked farther into the room. He removed his watch, placed it on the dresser beside my jewelry, and took his time lookin’ me over before meetin’ my eyes.
“Why you ain’t tell me ’Nelle had a nigga?”
There it was…
I frowned and turned around to face him. “‘Cause she ain’t want you to know.”
His brows lifted, and the expression on his face made it clear that answer had landed even worse than I expected.
“She ain’t want me to know?” he repeated.
“You heard what I said.”
“Yeah, I heard you.” He rested one hand on the dresser and looked at me for a few seconds. “I’m just tryna understand why my wife thought that made sense.”
“It made perfect sense to me,” I replied. “She told me somethin’ about her life and asked me not to repeat it. That’s my cousin, ‘Lo. I can’t just be runnin’ back tellin’ people her business every time she confide in me.”
He kept lookin’ at me, but he ain’t nod or say nothin’. That almost made it worse ‘cause when Kay’Lo got quiet like this, it usually meant he was listenin’ to every word comin’ out my mouth before he decided how he wanted to respond.
I folded my arms and held his stare ‘cause I wasn’t backin’ down on this one.
I understood why he had questions, but I also understood why Sha’Nelle kept that part of her life to herself. Renza had already made it damn near impossible for her to move on in peace, and if she wasn’t ready for everybody else to know about Couture, that was her decision to make.
Kay’Lo rubbed his jaw slow before lettin’ his hand fall. “So that’s where we at?”
I frowned. “What that’s supposed to mean?”
“It mean somebody outside this marriage can tell you not to say somethin’, and you comfortable keepin’ it from me.”
“It wasn’t about us, though,” I said. “It was about my cousin. If she trusted me enough to tell me she was dealin’ with somebody else, I wasn’t finna run back and tell her business.”
“But she was just fuckin’ on Renza,” he replied. “Now she show up with another nigga, and you don’t think that’s somethin’ I should’ve known before we walked into that party with the rest of our family?”
I let out a slow breath ‘cause I understood where he was comin’ from, but I still wasn’t changin’ my mind.